The recommendations will be included in a report which will go to Council for approval in the New Year.

The full Draft Heritage Strategy can be viewed below.

The purpose of the Heritage Strategy is to weave together, strengthen and provide for all aspects of heritage and taonga tuku iho (heritage) in Christchurch and on Banks Peninsula.

It is centered on the metaphor of weaving a taura (rope), and focuses on how our individual strands are woven together to tell the story of the district’s heritage.

The strategy is for all the people of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. It will assist the Council in partnership with the respective papatipu rūnanga and working together with the wider community to better provide for our taonga.

As we weave together new strands into our rope, we lengthen and strengthen the essence within.

Whakakitenga

Vision

Kia kōmiroa, kia whiria ngā weu kia ū,

Kia roa, kia pītonga ai te taura

As we weave together new strands into our rope, we lengthen and strengthen the essence within

We work together to recognise, protect and celebrate our heritage, which weaves our stories and places together, and is vital to the identity and wellbeing of our communities and the district.

Whakataki Background

Christchurch and Banks Peninsula have a rich and diverse heritage, and it’s a significant part of our identity. The places, memories and stories of all our cultures are treasures to be shared, celebrated and passed on to future generations. Valuing and connecting with our taonga provides many benefits and is a vital foundation for a vibrant, dynamic and sustainable 21st century city.

This strategy builds on a significant legacy. We have a long history of recognition and protection of our taonga by the Council, the six papatipu rūnanga and the community, which we owe to earlier generations of kaitiaki (guardians), heritage professionals and advocates.

The earthquakes had a devastating and unprecedented impact on the built heritage of Christchurch. The scale of loss and change in such a short time period is rare in national and international terms. As a result, the community has indicated that our remaining heritage is even more precious and valuable.

As a champion of the value of taonga to our identity, the Council has a leading role in heritage in the district.

The Council’s partners, the community and building owners also play vital roles. This strategy recognises our ability to achieve better heritage outcomes through working together.

In the spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi), the Council and the six papatipu rūnanga who hold mana whenua (jurisdiction over tribal land) rights and interests over the District are partners in this strategy.

Community input has been essential in shaping this strategy, through public and stakeholder engagement (online surveys, drop-ins, and workshops) in 2017 and 2018. The Council engaged with private owners, trusts, organisations, museums, archives and galleries, professionals, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZPT), the Department of Conservation (DOC), ChristchurchNZ, and a number of resident, history, cultural and interest groups throughout the city.

This strategy acknowledges the vital role these groups, individuals and whanau (families) have in sustaining our heritage.

These values guide our desired outcomes along with the principles of accessibility, respect for all cultures and heritage conservation principles.

What is Our Heritage, Our Taonga?

The community has told the Council that its concept of heritage is incredibly broad, with many dimensions, all of which are important to the district.

Our Heritage, our Taonga connects us It connects us to places and to people, to the past and to those who will follow, to our culture and identity.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is tangible and intangible built and natural and comprises places, objects, stories, memories and traditions. It includes:Our Journey, Our Stories – we have all journeyed here, and brought our own stories, traditions, objects and memories.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is those things we inherit, care for and pass on.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga includes built heritage whichrepresents different styles, materials, designers and eras, and the people, uses and stories associated with them.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is valued for different reasons and is seen through different lenses by different groups within the community.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is more than historywe live it.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is expressed, recorded and shared

Our Heritage, Our Taonga has different levels of significance.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is shaped by local communities.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is shaped by the Canterbury Earthquakes.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is what we have lost in the recent earthquakes, and throughout our history - and what has been saved and survived.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is ever evolving, and can be seen as a continuum from past to present to the future.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is still being created and discovered.

Our Heritage, Our Taonga weaves our stories together

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is important to the communities of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. Public engagement has told us that heritage is of value for the many connections it provides to people, place, culture, identity and the past. It is also beneficial to the wellbeing of individuals and the community.

Whāinga a mahinga

Goals and actions

This strategy will seek to achieve the following goals by creating a heritage and taonga that is valued and recognised by all the communities of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. It is only by working together that we will achieve these goals.

The goals and actions build on the work already undertaken by the community, the Council and its partners to identify, protect and celebrate heritage and taonga in all its diversity in the city and peninsula.

Archaeologists on the site of The Piano, Armagh Street. Credit Kim Bone

Whāinga Goal 1

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is accessible to all and shared and celebrated.

Mahinga Actions:

The Council, in partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and together with the community will seek to:

Work with its partners and the community to ensure heritage places, spaces and stories are accessible to everyone.

Facilitate the development of a Heritage Charter (see Implementation) which will acknowledge the value of heritage and taonga to Christchurch and Banks Peninsula and make a commitment to work together to achieve positive heritage outcomes.

Continue with an annual Heritage Week and support groups and communities to participate.

Celebrate and promote the Council’s role as heritage champion.

Whāinga Goal 2

Our Heritage, Our Taonga from the Christchurch and Banks Peninsula’s six papatipu rūnanga is acknowledged with respect to their mana whenua and in accordance with their values and culture.

Mahinga Actions:

The Council, in partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and together with the community, will seek to:

Build and maintain strong relationships with the papatipu rūnanga and involve rūnanga representatives in decision-making on heritage and taonga.

Include Ngāi Tahu taonga throughout the narrative for storytelling in the district.

Provide a variety of opportunities for the community to connect with Ngāi Tahu and Māori heritage.

Raise awareness of Ngāi Tahu heritage across the Council.

Whāinga Goal 3

Our Heritage, Our Taonga includes and respects all the cultures and distinct communities of the district.

Mahinga Actions:

The Council, in partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and together with the community, will seek to:

Highlight and promote the cultural diversity of heritage and taonga in the district, including ethnic communities.

Acknowledge, respect and where possible enhance the heritage of the distinct communities and neighbourhoods which create a sense of place and local uniqueness for those who live there.

Acknowledge the importance of anniversaries, traditional commemorations and events, and support communities to celebrate them.

Whāinga Goal 4

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is protected through collaboration and partnership.

Mahinga Actions:

The Council, in partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and together with the community, will seek to:

Protect heritage.

Investigate and promote funding sources for heritage projects available through other agencies, and provide information and support to communities to access this funding.

Support the development of a more strategic approach to the collection, conservation and management of our moveable cultural heritage.

Review the Council’s Heritage Conservation Policy and identify the need for any additional policy guidance required to support this strategy.

Review project management processes to identify tools and systems to better provide for the identification, protection and promotion of heritage places, names, features, neighbourhood character, place-making and integrated storytelling as part of Council projects.

Whakatinanatanga

Implementation

Implementation of this strategy depends upon partnership and collaboration. Only by working together can we ensure our taonga is accessible to everyone, and shared, valued and celebrated by us all.

In partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and working with the communities of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula, the Council will develop an implementation plan with timeframes. It’s anticipated we will start effecting the implementation plan in 2019. The strategy will be implemented in stages.

As part of this process, the Council will facilitate the development of a Heritage Charter that acknowledges the value of heritage to the communities of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. Signatories to the charter will make a commitment to work together to protect, promote and celebrate our taonga. The actions of the charter signatories can be included as targets and success measures for the external partnership and collaborative actions.